How do I create a private Ark: Survival Evolved server?
Released as an early-access title in 2015, Ark: Survival Evolved continues in 2021 with Genesis: Part 2. This extension brings a host of new features, equipment, biomes and missions. A brand new map is also waiting to be explored and conquered by your team of adventurers. There are several ways to join the game: on an official public server, hosting your own game locally, or by building your own private server with an Ark VPS.
Ark: Survival Evolved - survive in a world of dinosaurs
Ever dreamed of waking up on a beach, surrounded by prehistoric animals, with no memory of how you got there? This is the kind of adventure Ark offers you - one of the best multiplayer survival games, where you might get a chance to tame and ride a T-Rex. Danger is everywhere...as you’ll learn the hard way. Fortunately, death does not mean the end -you’ll simply take control of a new avatar. The game mechanics are varied and the gameplay will keep you on high alert. Hunting and taming dinosaurs, feeding your character and your new prehistoric companions, building your base, exploring the different maps...the activities are plentiful. The game is available on PC (Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, via Steam and Epic Games Store), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and smartphone (Android and iOS).
Why create my own private Ark server?
Ark offers you two styles of gaming: PvE and PvP. The first allows you to enjoy the content offered by the title, either alone or in a group. You cannot injure or raid other survivors. On the other hand, what makes PVP mode interesting is that you can attack each other.
Both ways of playing can be hosted on public or private servers. When you get started, you may wish to join a public server to get used to the mechanics. The server settings provided by the game publisher are standard and fixed. Playing on a private Ark server makes perfect sense when you discover the dozens of customisable settings available.
You can host a server on your own computer, but this option soon shows its limitations. If you play with several players, you will face two technical issues: Hosting a game server locally consumes a lot of resources on your computer, which you would also be using to play. This can cause slowdowns or even bugs. The second issue is that the other survivors have to stay in the same - quite restricted - area as you. The multiplayer mode therefore becomes much less immersive with fewer possibilities, since you always have to move in a group.
Creating your own private Ark: Survival Evolved server on an OVHcloud VPS is the best solution to fully enjoy your content. Configure your game as you want and manage the world your fellow gamers will live in, on a server that is continuously available.
Our recommended VPSs for playing Ark
Why choose a VPS for Ark?
Unlimited customisation
With a Gaming VPS, you are free to set up your own server. You can install Ark in your own way and configure everything you need. Unlike on an official server, you also can install community mods.
Personalise your games and decide which rules the survivors should follow: this is your world.
Suitable for all budgets
We offer several VPS configurations, with various CPU, RAM and storage resources. You can choose the model with the most suitable resources depending on your needs and budget for your private Ark server. VPSs are ideal for online game servers.
Constantly available
You no longer need to worry about server availability or access for your players. As a hosting provider, we monitor your VPS hosted in our datacentres. They use the best availability possible and have a low response time so that you can explore the different game maps for hours.
A unique gaming experience
There are many advantages to using a dedicated server for your online game. The frequent slowdowns you get on locally-hosted games will be a thing of the past. While some games only require a small amount of resources, an Ark server requires CPU, RAM, bandwidth and storage space on the machine. All of this consumption is taken on by your VPS, lightening the load on your personal computer and letting you enjoy better graphics. In addition to the game, you can also install a voice server, like Mumble or TeamSpeak, or host a Discord bot.
How do I create a private Ark server?
An private Ark server requires some configurations, which we will detail here.
- The server executable can be installed on Windows or Linux (CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian, etc.). It requires a 64-bit environment to run.
- For hardware configuration, a minimum of 6 GB RAM is recommended. Please note that the RAM usage may be higher depending on the mod(s) installed on your game.
- Allow at least 15 GB of disk space for the game server files. It is also useful to set aside additional space for game backups and mods.
- Once you have configured the operating system and environment for your VPS, you will need to install SteamCMD to download the Ark server files.
- For the network connections, the following ports must be open: UDP 27015, UDP 7777, UDP 7778 and TCP 27020. When you rent a VPS server, you get an IP address that allows you to be included in the list of Ark servers.
Need help using your VPS? Dedicated guides can help.
If you need detailed information on installing and configuring your Ark VPS, there are a number of online tutorials available.